Perfect Austin Weekend

What I had this weekend is what many would consider the perfect Austin weekend ... or at least one version of it!

Friday night, I went to an art opening at the Blanton Museum. It was of 50's cool and had a lot of neat exhibits, like the original Barbie doll, Dobie Gillis playing on tv, and great jazz music. And since I got to dress up (a little bit,) it was an even bigger treat!

Saturday, my sister-in-law came into town with my niece and nephew. We started the day at the Farmer's Market, which is so much fun for a foodie like me! The produce, the products, the atmosphere! For lunch, we headed over to Casa de Luz, which is my favorite restaurant because everything is organic. (It also happens to be vegan and macrobiotic, but those aren't as big a deal to me.) I feel great eating here, and the food is always particularly tasty since it's made with super fresh ingredients. After lunch, and playing on the playground for a while, we went to Nature's Treasures, which is a store that sells stones and jewelry. I get into the meaning behind certain stones so it's always a lot of fun seeing what I'm drawn to and what its meaning is. Afterwards, we headed back to my casa and cooked dinner and played with the kids. Later, I made some homemade popcorn that we ate on the couch.

Sunday came with an early start (kids and all) so we drove around downtown looking at the Capitol and other well-known land markers. We did the "sampling tour" at Whole Foods and then finished lunch with their stone-fired pizza. Sunday afternoon, the family left, and I hit Lady Bird Lake for a little sun and exercise. I rounded all this off with an evening of movie-watching.

It was a GREAT weekend!

Love, Love, Love! Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Day of Love, Dia del Amor, Valentine's Day!

How does one define love? I was curious.
I searched for the actual definition, wondering what words could possibly be used to encapsulate such a strong and powerful and uncontrollable emotion. Here is some of what I found, courtesy of Heritage Dictionary:

love (lŭv) n.
A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.
A feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make a pair; the emotion of sex and romance.
Sexual passion.
Sexual intercourse.
A strong predilection or enthusiasm.
The object of such an enthusiasm.
An intense emotional attachment.
A person who is the object of deep or intense affection or attraction; beloved. Often used as a term of endearment.
An expression of one's affection.
Love Mythology Eros or Cupid.

v. loved, lov·ing, loves
To have a deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person.
To have a feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person.
To have an intense emotional attachment to an object.
To embrace or caress.
To have sexual intercourse with.
To like or desire enthusiastically.
To thrive on; need.
To experience deep affection or intense desire for another.

They certainly tried to define every contingency, but defining love in concrete terms feels lacking. I'm not sure love can be quantified. And maybe that's ok.
Happy Valentine's Day! May it be filled with love!

What a Beautiful Day!

Today has been absolutely beautiful! Bright and sunny, with warm temperatures and a cool breeze! Perfect! I love days like this and am so happy we are reaching the time of year when they start to pop up more frequently!
I took advantage of the weather by opening up all the windows this morning and then walking around Town Lake this afternoon. I hope I got a little bit of sun. Three separate people were like, "Girl, you are pale!" so I know it's time I get my behind outdoors. I tan really easily, but I'm such a wimp in cold weather that I tend to hibernate and then fade about 40 skin shades. ;)
When the temperatures start hitting the mid-eighties, I'm hitting the coast!